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Alsace
Orbiting at a distance of 1.58AU from its White Dwarf Sun, Alsace is a Civilised world and is the third planet in from the sun. It holds a breathable atmosphere conducive to human life, with an average Summer temperature of 14 °C and surface gravity of 1.15G. A heavily forested, mountainous and cold world, Alsace features Tundra in the north and south poles, agricultural farms are widespread in the north, while the south relies on animal husbandry. While most cities are dotted around the globe, the main cities are located inside the great Mountain ranges of Alsace, slowly dug out and expanded over the thousands of years the Alsatians have been separated from the outside universe, these cities contain hundreds of thousands of people. These cities are in of itself mighty citadels, almost impossible to penetrate by anyone other than the most tenacious of foes, though many have tried, few have prevailed, and the loss of life to break open the mighty gates that protect these cities is staggering. History Alsace was the site of a colonisation some millennia ago. Something went wrong in the attempted colonisation of the planet, and the colonists were reduced to an almost Hunter-Gatherer society using primitive weapons such as the bow and spear. Settlements were established on mountainsides and in large caves, eventually these would be expanded further into the mountain to make room for population expansions, eventually whole sprawling cities would rest inside the bowels of almost hollowed out mountains, the entrances protected by mighty gates and fortifications, which required the most skilled and largest armies to ever penetrate, as technology advanced, an arms race between weapons and fortifications began this would last almost the whole of Alsace's Pre-unification history, creating a unique sense of warfare for the Alsatians, where armies would usually meet in clearings to show their superiority instead of sieging a mountain citadel. Although Mountain Citadel sieges would still occur, the loss of life was staggering for the attackers, and so attacking Mountain Citadels was left only to the most powerful nations. Black powder was discovered sometime in the late 30th millennium and muskets invented not long afterwards. The tactics used by the armies of Alsace were similar to the Line Infantry tactics of 18th-19th Century Earth. A Grenadier was originally a specialized soldier, first established as a distinct for the throwing of grenades and sometimes assault operations. At that time grenadiers were chosen from the strongest and largest soldiers. After multiple major reforms in tactics the throwing of grenades was no longer relevant, but grenadiers were still chosen for being the most physically powerful soldiers and would lead assaults in the field of battle. Grenadiers would also often lead the storming of fortification breaches in siege warfare. The Alsatians where discovered on accident by a Space Marine chapter on a penitent crusade in 485.M41, initially contact was frosty, Alsace had just recovered from a 200 year long war to unite the world under one banner, and almost half of the world's population had perished from war and famine. So when these 'Sky Giants' arrived in their flying ships, at first the Alsatians believed they where under attack, a tense stand-off later, the Alsatians where surprised to learn they where not the only humans in the galaxy, and that the 'Sky Giants' where also humans, albeit modified for war. 10 years after first contact, Alsace was considered a core world of the Imperium and had just mobilized it's first regiment to fight for the Imperium of Man, the 1st Grenadier Guard. Culture Alsace is a is a terrestrial, mountainous Earth-like planet that has been classified as a Civilised world . Alsace's natural environment is much like Terra's was millennia ago, with a large ocean covering 68 percent of the planet's surface. The land mass that does exist is divided between incredibly thick pine-like forests vast mountain ranges and large glaciers. The planet is very cold and snows for 6 of the 14 months of the planets solar orbit, and has a higher than average gravity but not to the point that it adversely affects growing conditions. The people of Alsace are a simple folk, the population of 8 billion is mostly peasants and middle class, with a smaller 10% are the aristocrats, the ruling class. Discipline and duty to ones superiors are ingrained at a young age, and all males aged 15 must serve 2 years in his local Militia guard unit, and train every 3 months after his service. It should be noted that while they serve in the militia, members still work in the farm fields and in other areas to keep the harvest going, otherwise Alsatians would starve over the long winters The Grenadiers raised from Alsace are a hardy folk, tough, disciplined and drilled to near perfection, they have a reputation for following orders to the letter, and without a moment's hesitation. Each Grenadier rigidly obeys and respects his chain-of-command, and are amongst the most dependable troops in the Astra Militarium. The Grenadier Guards of Alsace march to war in bright colours and ornate uniforms. Some enemies of the Emperor have been misled by the sight of the Guard, believing they were fighting amateurs or ceremonial troops, only to find tough, determined, professional soldiers. The genome of the Alsatians people has deviated from the human baseline with a number of minor mutations, although the Alsatians are still considered fully human by the Imperium. The most notable of these mutations is the Alsatians' trademark height and brawn, which provide any son or daughter of Alsace with an imposing appearance. Category:Imperium Category:Worlds Category:Feudal Worlds